1960 Citroën DS - Safe to drive without fenders?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

The valve adjustment on my 1960 Citroen 2cv involves removing the right and left side fenders as well as the front bumper of the car to get at the valve covers on this boxer engine. So, in order to save space in the garage, i took these things into the family room while i performed the adjustment along with some other maintenance tasks. When i finished, our cat had her kittens in the passenger side wheel well which was in the family room. My question is: is it safe to drive the car without the fenders? I can put the bumper on of course.

do you guys need a cat or two for the shop?

thanks, Chris

2

That thing is not safe even with fenders on it . If this is not a Joke who do you think you are asking this question too ?

3

You are fine driving this without fenders… slowly… but that is normal.

And not on the highway because a 2CV won’t go fast enough! :wink:

4

Safe or not, it is illegal to operate a car without fenders.

5

Depends on where you live.

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6

+1
If the OP doesn’t believe us, a visit to his local police station will confirm this reality.

7

A 2CV is nothing like a DS.

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8

Read the original post. The title says "1960 Citroen DS but the text says;

9

And the 2CV has the two-cylinder opposed engine, unlike the DS.

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10

My grandpa drove a DS for years in France.This car was way ahead of its time because Citroen invented front wheel drive and its suspension could be risen to go off road.It was a great car for its days.I would ask your local authorities if you could drive it without fenders for a while but I doubt it.

11

No, just the first to use it in higher volume cars. Followed closely by Cord.

Early - pre-1900 cars - had front wheel drive of sorts. J. Walter Christie built FWD cars in 1904 and was granted a patent on it.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/01/16/cars-of-futures-past-christie-front-wheel-drive-racers/

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12

A French car that’s almost 40 years old and still on the road?

I’d say it probably as safe to drive as the day it was made and I seriously doubt that any officer would risk the ridicule of writing a ticket. :rofl:

So light up your Galois, strap on your leather beret, quote some radical poetry and let your rebel flag fly!

13

I am now convinced this is a 2CV not a DS. The DS was designed for a 4 cylinder boxer engine but production cars had inline 4s. A valve adjustment would not require front fender removal. Almost 60 years old and in the words of the late, great, Jimi Hendrix: ‘Let your freak flag fly’!!!

14

ah, le mystère de la chatte et du deux chevaux

Where’s Hercule Poirot when you need him? :wink:

15

You can move Mrs. cat and her kittens no problem. Just create a comfortable place for them and be gentle. She’ll get the point. I once had to rescue kittens off the basement stairs as she had them on the way down. No problem, they were just fine.

16

For those who think it is universally illegal to drive without fenders, have you never seen a fenderless Model T, A or 32 Ford hot rod on the road. I see them at car shows all the time and they are not all trailered in.

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17

A ton of illegal driving takes place on the road these days. Driving without fenders would be at the bottom of the list of infractions to worry about

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18

As to whether it’s safe, those just bolt on, so I doubt they do much to provide stiffness to the body. I’d drive without them, if I had to.

19

In foul weather the tires could throw a lot of muck onto the windshield. Around here no fenders would likely get you stopped by the local gendarmes.

I didn’t ever think 2CV and safe were synonyms. :smile:

1 Like